25 books by female authors to add to your TBR
There is a quiet power in the words of female authors. Their voices, shaped by history, culture and experience echo the rhythms of resilience and vulnerability. From the vivid prose of Joan Didion to the spellbinding stories of Toni Morrison, these women carve paths through the written word, offering worlds where wisdom, empathy, and imagination intertwine. As someone whose bedside table is stacked high with stories by women, I wanted to share some of my favourite female authors to add to your TBR.
Read the full list below.
Through memories of food, music, and childhood, Michelle Zauner explores grief, identity, and her Korean heritage while mourning the loss of her mother.
A young girl in colonial Antigua experiences the painful transition from childhood to adulthood, shaped by an intense bond with her mother and a growing awareness of identity and independence.
During a trip to Japan, a daughter and her mother navigate cultural and emotional distances, as memories and unspoken tensions quietly shape their time together.
In a world that prizes whiteness and beauty, a young Black girl longs for blue eyes, leading to a tragic exploration of race, self-worth, and trauma.
A witty, atmospheric collection of essays capturing the glamour, eccentricity, and chaos of 1970s Los Angeles through Babitz’s sharp, observational writing.
A quiet, devastating portrait of poverty and invisibility, this novella follows Macabéa, a young woman living in the margins of Rio de Janeiro, as told through a metafictional narrator grappling with how, and why, to tell her story.
Twelve interconnected voices weave a tapestry of Black British life, exploring gender, sexuality, identity, and history with bold, rhythmic prose.
When fourteen-year-old Gina Vitay is suddenly sent away from her comfortable life in Budapest to a strict provincial boarding school, she struggles with isolation and loss, unaware of the dangers her father is trying to protect her from in wartime Hungary.
A posthumous collection of essays and notes, this book dissects the cultural and intellectual frameworks that have shaped perceptions of women and feminism.
Angela Davis provides a compelling historical analysis of the intersections between feminism, race, and class, highlighting the overlooked contributions of Black and working-class women to the feminist movement.
A fragmented, poetic meditation on love, loss, and longing, all filtered through an obsession with the colour blue.
A young girl is sent to live with distant relatives in rural Ireland, where quiet care and unexpected tenderness slowly reveal what it means to be truly seen and loved.
Three stories expose the inner turmoil of women confronting aging, betrayal, and shifting identities in a world that no longer sees them as essential.
Maya Angelou’s seminal memoir details her early life, marked by trauma, racism, and resilience, as she discovers the power of language and self-expression.
In this iconic collection of essays, Didion captures the disquiet and disintegration of late 1960s America with her trademark clarity, chronicling personal, political, and cultural upheaval with razor-sharp insight.
In a working-class Naples neighbourhood, the lifelong, complicated friendship between Elena and Lila unfolds—marked by rivalry, loyalty, and the struggle to define themselves in a world that often tries to limit them.
A young Black woman becomes entangled in an open marriage, grappling with loneliness, artistry, and precarious adulthood in this darkly comic novel.
Two brothers navigate grief and fractured intimacy in the aftermath of their father’s death, set against the backdrop of Dublin and the world of competitive chess.
Through the experiences of Ifemelu and Obinze, this novel examines race, immigration, and love as they navigate different worlds in Nigeria, the U.S., and the U.K.
Blending memoir, travelogue, and dreamlike reflection, Patti Smith weaves a narrative of loss, art, and memory, guided by her poetic sensibility.
Spanning continents and generations, this sweeping novel traces the diverging fates of two half-sisters—one sold into slavery, the other married to a British colonizer—along with their descendants.
Returning to the West Bank after years abroad, a Palestinian actress becomes involved in a production of Hamlet, as art, resistance, and personal history collide in a deeply layered exploration of identity, exile, and political struggle.
After a breakup he didn’t see coming, Andy tries to make sense of love, masculinity, and growing up, in a warm, humorous story about heartbreak and starting over.
A reflective reckoning with her adolescence, Ernaux examines the emotional aftermath of her first sexual experience and the enduring impact of gender, power, and memory.
A woman finds purpose in the rigid routine of a Tokyo convenience store, until societal expectations begin to threaten her carefully structured life.
